The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1887-08-12
Every Morning Except Sundays.
WHAT MIGHT BE DONE.
4 Suggestion "a. 60 What Might Ise Done
with Long Time Couyicts.

4 Suggestion s,s to What Might Iso Done
with Long Time Convicts.
Or Seaman, late chief of staff of the
BlaCkWeU's Island hospital and peuiten-
eiary, spoke upon the problem of convict
labor in his recent address before the
Meolco-Legal society. He argues in favor
OF The English system of employing long
sentence prisoners on great public works,
such rs h8Tbor and fOrtiiicatioB making.
An effort is being made in another quar-
ter to introduce transportation TO Alaska.
But there is a third alternative, suggested
by some very commonplace facts, here
submitted for consideration.
Society is, perhaps unnecessarily al
ficteo by having To bear two enormous
burdens, costly, demorahziug and oppres-
slve. These are ID the maintenance of
criminals, and - the maintenance Of
widows and orphans left destitute by
accidents" l mean, here particularly,
the families of miners killed by coalplt
explosions, which occur SO frequently.
Now, the miner is probably the wOrthleSt
working citizen in the commonwealth.
For our good he submits not only TO TIE
meudouS toll, but 20 the sacrifice of sun
light and the pure air of heaven, and
Cheerfully faces the risk of being himself
among the percentage of miners who
every year get kiIIedesomething like one
in thirty-eight. We owe more to the
miner than we care to acknowledge.
ON the other hand, the criminal for
feits ordinary sympathy. The worst class
criminals who have just unfortunately
lodged the hungman, society pronounces
unfit to associate again with the commu-
nifty for a long time. if ever, /. e, society
saws they are unfit TO live in the world.
Yet we eNaIt these ulalefactors 10 the
position of state pensioners, we give them
palatlal residences, a costly staff of Iv-
cried servants, with all the resources Of
medical and sanitary science TO prolOng
their precious lives to the last possible
gasp-aII at the expense Of the honest,
law abiding, virUuOus taxpayer. And the
coal getter2 Wen, we condemn him TO
punishment into the bowels OF the earth,
with the UOlerably sure and certain hope
~ an Incidental explosion, with loss of
life or limb and the probable pauperiza-
ton of widows and orphans to follow
Suppose. by wav of experimental re-
form. our all wise legislature were to Sc
leCt the life sentence cOnviCCs of the most
worthless and repulsive type, and single
out also the most dungeons mines. sup
pose they were TO place the former in the
latter, say, for ten years daily labor
If in the mysterious workings of PrOvl-
deuce. an explosion were to bereave rs OF
these our erriug Jrethren-weIl, we
should rejoice that the calamity had not
Nnded the lives of our honest, industrious
miners. who raise their families as good
citizens On the other hand, the saving
in cost of prisons would go far TO insure
the safety of our worthy miners by pro
viding better preventives Of accidents.
S}uly few years ago a boat load Of con
v1cts were upset and drowned on a North
Carolina river II was sad, very, though
we have not heard Of any serious damage
10 society or the constitution in cOnse-
quence-- Geofrey QuarIes in New York
Post